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HOPKINTON (CBS) – They are calling it a Christmas miracle of sorts at a Hopkinton assisted living center. That is where a four-foot Virgin Mary emerged out of the ground.

The concrete statue was unearthed last week as construction crews dug up the area next to the Golden Pond assisted living facility.

It is in remarkable condition, since it was likely underground for at least twenty years, according to the facility’s executive director Bill Marr.

“It’s even beyond incredible that it was found 20 days before Christmas,” Marr says. “The timing of the year couldn’t be more symbolic.”

As for how the statue got there and who put it there, no one is quite sure.

Years ago, a pair of mobile homes stood on that spot. Prior to that, however, the area was likely just wooded.

Marr plans to check with town historical officials to get a better sense of where the statue may have come from.

He thinks someone buried it standing up in the ground.

“It was while we were trying to get tree roots pulled out that the excavator shovel pulled the statue out of the ground,” he says. “A resident was walking along the sidewalk in the back of the building and saw the statue sitting in the pile of dirt.”

The statue is now inside the facility, where it’s the talk of the building.

“It is a wonderful thing,” says Andrea Brass, who has lived here for five years. “I think the statue is absolutely beautiful [and] I think it’s a precursor of good things to come for this place.”

Once it gets refurbished, the statue will have a place of honor in the building’s chapel.